Volver (2006/I)

Director:

Pedro Almodóvar

Writer:

Pedro Almodóvar (writer)

Release Date:

26 January 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

After her death, a mother returns to her home town in order to fix the situations she couldn't resolve during her life.

Plot Keywords:

Village | Fire | Grave | Secret | Town

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 44 wins & 47 nominations

Cast

Penélope Cruz	...	Raimunda
Carmen Maura	...	Irene
Lola Dueñas	...	Sole
Blanca Portillo	...	Agustina
Yohana Cobo	...	Paula
Chus Lampreave	...	Tía Paula
Antonio de la Torre	...	Paco
Carlos Blanco	...	Emilio
María Isabel Díaz	...	Regina (as Isabel Díaz)
Neus Sanz	...	Inés (as Nieves Sanz Escobar)
Leandro Rivera	...	Auxiliar Producción
Yolanda Ramos	...	Presentadora TV
Carlos García Cambero	...	Carlos
Pepa Aniorte	...	Vecina
Elvira Cuadrupani	...	Vecina

Also Known As:

To Return (USA) (literal English title)

MPAA:

Rated R some sexual content and language.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | Dolby

Certification:

USA:R | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Italy:T | Italy:VM14 | UK:15 | Argentina:16 | Ireland:15A | Finland:K-15 | Netherlands:AL | Hong Kong:IIA | Sweden:11 | Spain:13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Australia:M | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Peru:14 | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Almagro, Ciudad Real, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

Company:

Canal+ España

Trivia:

Penélope Cruz became the first Spanish actress ever to be nominated for Best Lead Actress at the Oscars.

Quotes:

Raimunda: [to self] It smells of... farts, my mother's farts.

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Sneak Peek at 'Volver' (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Volver

the town and the city

EPIC COMEDY If we get to forget the delirious and delicious comedy side of the film, we find an epic story of what the second half of the past century was for so many women in Spain. Moving from the town to the city(from La Mancha to Madrid, from great patio houses full of architectural wisdom to terrific social housing apartments in the suburbs of the city), fighting against the elements(fire that burns down like love, wind that drives you crazy, water that used to fill our rivers and now is gone), having bad luck with men as the only possible fate, exercising companionship, imagination, tenderness and shrewdness as their only weapons for surviving. Keeping dignity untouched inside them.

ACTRESSES Pedro Almodovar in this film is like a top ten chef reinventing the most popular dishes of his own culture! The movie is a tasting menu of the greatest playing actresses with the best possible direction. The wild instinct of Penelope to construct a suburban animal, with strong links to Italian mommas, the touching interpretation of Blanca Portillo, simply mind blowing, the master lesson from Chus Lampreave that fills the theater with rivers of affection, the young actress Yohana Cobo that achieves success in some of the most difficult takes in the film, and Lola Dueñas that gets the plainest part and gives it a huge dimension with high level performance for comedy. And Carmen Maura, that stars the story like a Japanese terror movie star, she is like the Obi-Wan Kenobi of La Mancha.

DENSITY AND GRATITUDE So we have an epic story, great actresses, and a refined comedy that fills the spectator with gratitude, at least that is my case. I just have no defense in front of a film like this, that tells me a great story, makes me laugh, and has the highest detail density in objects colors, comments, views, gestures, references, movements and subplots. That is probably the only trouble with it, more than one view is necessary to catch it all, if possible!